𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that he began making arrangements for a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A new poll shows that more than half of Americans want the U.S. to be “involved” in peace negotiations between the two countries.

A YouGov poll, released Tuesday, shows that 62 percent of Americans say the U.S. should be involved in peace talks, with 24 percent saying the U.S. should be “very” involved while 37 percent say it should be “somewhat” involved. By contrast, only 22 percent say the country should not be involved.

On Monday, Trump met with Zelensky and a group of European leaders at the White House, days after meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The poll also revealed that 41 percent of Americans “strongly or somewhat approve” of Trump’s recent meeting with Vladimir Putin in Russia to discuss the war, while 38 percent disapprove.

Similarly, 35 percent of Americans said they approve of how Trump is handling the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while 45 percent disapprove.

Switzerland is open to hosting peace talks, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said Tuesday to SRF.

“We are ready for such a meeting, and we are thankful for the trust placed in us,” Cassis said, while at a diplomatic conference in Bern. “We have always signaled our willingness, but it, of course, hinges on the willingness of the major powers.”

Cassis said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over his invasion of Ukraine, would be granted “immunity” if he were to attend such a meeting in the country.

“We have clarified the legal situation,” Cassis said. “We could hold such a meeting, and we know what needs to be done to ensure it goes smoothly. We can do this despite the arrest warrant against Putin because of our special role and Geneva’s role as the European headquarters of the UN.”

Other world leaders have said they’re on board.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has expressed support for the idea. “Geneva could be the right venue” for the meeting, Tajani told reporters in Bern, adding: “Italy is in favor of taking place in Geneva because it is a country that has always worked for peace-building.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also said he was backing Geneva to host the talks.

“It will be [hosted by] a neutral country, maybe Switzerland – I’m pushing for Geneva – or another country,” Macron told French channel LCI on Tuesday.

This comes after Carney participated in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Coalition of the Willing, a group of countries committed to defending a peace deal in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump passed along a letter from his wife, Melania Trump, to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Alaska on Friday.

In the letter, the First Lady asked Putin to think of the children impacted by the war in Ukraine

“Yet in today’s world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them — a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future,” she wrote. “Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin would be granted“immunity” if he visits Switzerland for a meeting about the future of the war in Ukraine, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said, Politico reported.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 over his invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post Tuesday that he, was arranging a trilateral meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but noted the location had yet to be determined.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday suggested Geneva, Switzerland host the summit.

Switzerland can host the meeting “despite the arrest warrant against Putin because of our special role and Geneva’s role as the European headquarters of the U.N,” the country’s foreign minister said.

The State Department has responded to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s claim that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he liked his sweater bearing the letters “CCCP,” the Cyrillic letters for the Soviet Union.

A State Department spokesperson told The Independent: “In the midst of historic peace agreements being led by the President of the United States, it is unbelievable, but predictable, that the media will find any reason to avoid covering this administration’s successes.”

The sweatshirt appeared to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to claims from Putin’s critics, who say he wants to rebuild Soviet Russia.

Bryony Gooch has more details on Lavrov’s sweater:

World leaders gathered in Washington on Monday for a summit billed as a potential turning point in efforts to end the most significant ground war in Europe since the Second World War.

In the Oval Office, Donald Trump hosted Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and senior European figures to thrash out what security guarantees for Ukraine might look like if a peace deal with Russia can be reached.

The meeting was described as “historic” by Sir Keir Starmer, who has emerged as one of the driving forces behind Europe’s response.

Tom Watling has the story.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Tuesday.

“We exchanged assessments of the meetings in Washington and discussed our joint work with all partners on strong security guarantees for Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Jonas noted that this is truly a historic achievement – Europe has never been so united around Ukraine.”

“We are confident that peace can be reliable and lasting, and security guarantees are the key to this,” he added.